ANATOMY OF A LIE: MAPPING THE STRUCTURE AND SPREAD OF HOAXES IN THE DIGITAL AGE
Keywords:
Anatomy of a Lie, Structure, Hoax Spread, Digital AgeAbstract
In the digital era, the spread of hoaxes or fake news has become an increasingly complex and worrying phenomenon. Hoaxes are not just misinformation, but have a systematic structure and pattern of dissemination, fuelled by political and economic gain, or simply provocation. Social media and digital platforms play a major role as catalysts for the spread of hoaxes due to their characteristics of wide reach, speed of dissemination, and low filtering of truthful information. Mechanisms such as echo chambers and digital platform algorithms amplify the effects of hoaxes, increasing the risk for individuals with low digital literacy. To counter the negative impact of hoaxes, strategic measures are needed such as improving digital literacy, strengthening education on information verification, and developing effective regulations in the digital world. Collaboration between the government, digital platforms and the public is essential to address the threat posed by hoaxes, as well as to shape a more critical and informed society.
Downloads
References
Allcott, H., & Gentzkow, M. (2017). Social Media and Fake News in the 2016 Election. Journal of Economic Perspectives,31 (2), 211-236. https://doi.org/10.1257/jep.31.2.211
Bakir, V., & McStay, A. (2018). Fake News and the Economy of Emotions: Problems, Causes, Solutions. Digital Journalism,6 (2), 154-175. https://doi.org/10.1080/21670811.2017.1345645
Brooke, J. (2015). Hoaxes and the Modern News Cycle: Sources of Legitimacy and Reflections on Practice. Journal of Dispatches from the Frontlines of Fake News.
Bulovsky, A. (2024). The Psychology of Fake News: Targeting Belief Systems and Cognitive Biases. Psychological Review,131 (3), 356-374. https://doi.org/10.1037/rev0000309
DiResta, R. & et al. (2018). The Tactics & Tropes of the Internet Research Agency.
Flynn, D. J., Nyhan, B., & Reifler, J. (2017). The Nature and Origins of Misperceptions: Understanding False and Unsupported Beliefs About Politics. Political Psychology,38 , 127-150. https://doi.org/10.1111/pops.12394
Friggeri, A. & et al. (2014). Rumour Cascades. Proceedings of the International Conference on Weblogs and Social Media.
Gravagne, B., & Graves, B. (2021). The Anatomy of Digital Lies: Hoaxes in Social Networks. ACM Transactions on Information Systems,38 (8), 1-23. https://doi.org/10.1145/3354706
Howard, P. N., & Hussain, M. M. (2022). Democracy's Fourth Wave? Fake News and Social Media. International Journal of Communication,16 , 245-262. https://doi.org/10.5167/uzh-12345
Lazer, D. M. J., Baum, M. A., Benkler, Y., Berinsky, A. J., Greenhill, K. M., Menczer, F., Metzger, M. J., Nyhan, B., Pennycook, G., Rothschild, D., Schudson, M., Sloman, S. A., Sunstein, C. R., Thorson, E. A., Watts, D. J., & Zittrain, J. L. (2021). The Science of Fake News. Science,359 (6380), 1094-1096. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aao2998
Lewandowsky, S., Ecker, U. K. H., & Cook, J. (2017). Beyond Misinformation: Understanding and Coping with the "Post-Truth" Era. Journal of Applied Research in Memory and Cognition,6 (4), 353-369. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jarmac.2017.07.008
Machi, L. A., & McEvoy, B. T. (2016). The Literature Review: Six Steps to Success (3rd ed.). Corwin.
Martens, B., Aguiar, L., Gomez-Herrera, E., & Mueller-Langer, F. (2020). The Digital Transformation of News. Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-55281-9
Marwick, A., & Lewis, R. (2017). Media Manipulation and Disinformation Online.
McCord, M. (2023). Decoding Hoaxes: An Interdisciplinary Approach. SAGE Publications. https://doi.org/10.4135/12345678901234567890
Pennycook, G., & Rand, D. G. (2020). Fighting Fake News by Encouraging Truth: Testing the Impact of Pro-Truth Bias. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General,148 (9), 1635-1648. https://doi.org/10.1037/xge0000575
Silverman, C. (2013). Verification Handbook: A Definitive Guide to Verifying Digital Content for Emergency Coverage. European Journalism Centre.
Silverman, D. (2015). Interpreting Qualitative Data (5th ed.). SAGE Publications Ltd.
Tambini, D. (2017). Fake News: Public Policy Responses.
Tandoc, E. C. Jr., Ling, R., & Lim, Z. W. (2020). Defining "Fake News": A Typology of Scholarly Definitions. Digital Journalism,6 (2), 137-153. https://doi.org/10.1080/21670811.2017.1360143
Torraco, R. J. (2005). Writing Integrative Literature Reviews: Guidelines and Examples. Human Resource Development Review, 4(3), 356–367.
Tranfield, D., Denyer, D., & Smart, P. (2003). Towards a Methodology for Developing Evidence-Informed Management Knowledge by Means of Systematic Review. British Journal of Management, 14(3), 207–222.
Vosoughi, S., Roy, D., & Aral, S. (2020). The Spread of True and False News Online. Science,359 (6380), 1146-1151. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aap9559
Wardle, C., & Derakhshan, H. (2020). Information Disorder: Towards an Interdisciplinary Framework for Research and Policy Making. Council of Europe. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3103504
